Vandals cause €50,000 damage at soccer club

Club treasurer Joe Smith points out the damage caused at Glebe North soccer club.

GLEBE North soccer club in Balbriggan was dealt a bitter blow by vandals who chose to spend their bank holiday Monday burning down an equipment shed at the club's grounds, costing the club up to €50,000.

The club's treasurer, Joe Smith said he was 'devastated' by the wanton destruction that saw the club's equipment shed go up in flames after a mindless arson attack.

It took Balbriggan Fire Brigade more than 90 minutes to put out the blaze that engulfed the shed, which was packed with vital and expensive equipment used to maintain the club's grounds. Lawnmowers, irrigation equipment for the club's sandbased pitches and a generator were among the items lost in the blaze. Sadly for the club, this was the only building on the grounds that did not have insurance and so the massive bill to replace this vital equipment would have to be met by a huge fundraising effort. 'We have to sit down and talk about it but it is clear we will have to put on a massive fundraising drive. It has taken years of hard work for us to build up all this equipment and it has gone up in smoke in a few minutes,' the club treasurer said. The alarm was raised by two locals who were playing cricket in a nearby field when they heard a bang and saw smoke rising from the Glebe North grounds. Local gardaí and a garda forensic unit have examined the site and an investigation into the suspected arson has begun.